So you’ve been deliberating for some time and you think you’re finally ready to hire a business operations consultant to come in externally and get your business in better shape.

You’re ready to learn, make your operations smoother and more effective, and really start to elevate your customer experience. 

And that is really exciting! But…are you really ready? 

If the answer to that question is ‘I have no idea! Surely just the fact that I think I need a business consultant means I’m ready?’ 

Then I’m sorry to break it to you, but you aren’t ready! (just yet anyway…keep reading!)

There are a few things you need to prep to make sure you, your team, and your business are ready for a consultant to come in. Once completed, your business consultant experience will be a lot easier and much more streamlined. 

So let’s get started (eeek, I’m excited for you!)

Prep Yourself

Prepping yourself is the first step to being ready for a business operations consultant (like me!) to come in and the first step is very simple: Decide that this is a priority for you and your business. If you’re being talked into hiring an expert and don’t really have additional hours to focus on this project it may not be the best time.

After you’ve done this, you need to make room for it to be a priority. So you need to start to offboard any other big projects or time sucks you currently have in your business! 

The best way to start doing this? Review your appointment scheduler and client projects and try and lighten the load in the coming weeks. This is really important if you want to make the most out of your business consultant and the time they’re giving you!

After all, you don’t want to have to do this a few times because you didn’t have enough time to properly utilize or understand everything the first time!

Once you’ve done this, you’re ready to…

Prep Your Team

This is a big one. It’s super important that your team is not only aware that a business consultant is coming in but that they also know exactly why and are prepared to accept them openly! 

Luckily, there is a very simple way to prep your team. 

Schedule a meeting (or send them a memo) and make sure to cover these 4 things:

1. WHAT the current state of the union is and what your vision for the future state of the union is. It’s really important for your team to understand what you’re trying to achieve and the goals of the company. 
2. WHY do you think that the expert is needed to get the business to the next level you spoke about in point one!
3. HOW this will affect them in the coming months. Will it require input or more time from them? Will their duties be adjusted slightly to allow the consultant to work efficiently? 
4.  HOW this will affect them after this is complete. This is where you need to sell it to your team. Talk about how it will benefit them and the business!

Whilst you’re doing this, remember to be on the lookout for any resistance to change so you can address this early on and not right in the middle of a project.

So if there is a team member who is asking why a consultant is needed (for example, if they are the operations manager)  you can talk to them, explain things further and make sure they are on board.

Prep Your Business

Once you’ve prepped yourself, and your team and you have a good idea of the process, it’s time to prep your business, girl! 

To do this, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself.

Firstly, will you need to onboard an additional support person? For example, with my biz-ops audit, I dig deep into your business and look at all the areas that you might need help with or need to improve. There will also be some systems and operations that you need to implement. So if you weren’t looking to retain me after the audit, do you have someone who can implement what the audit revealed? Or will you need to invest in someone to do this!

Secondly, you need to ask yourself if you are prepared (and your business has the funds) to make additional investments in any tech you might need? If I use myself and Biz-Ops Audit as an example again, part of a GREAT client experience is that I am upfront about possibly recommending things that might come at an additional cost. There is always a FREE or budget friendly recommendations but it would be good to understand what you budget is before you hire a consultant. 

Of course, you decide what works best for your business but some of my clients preferred to move to different tools and hire me to also implement them. 

So be prepared to potentially spend some money after the audit takes place! 

There you have it! Once you’ve done all of this, I have good news…you’re ready to hire that consultant and start changing your business for the better! 

And if you’re interested in the Biz-Ops Audit that I spoke about, you can click here for more information and take the first step to find more flow and space for growth in your business!